Bittersweet Tragedies
by Byakuxhisa4eva
Summary: The House of Hyuga has only ever known Hyuga Neji to be the cold, demanding head of house he is today. Ten years ago, a different story would have been told. It seems as if history only ever exists to repeat itself. NejiTen. Rated T to be safe.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: **HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HYUGA NEJI!! _-sparkles and glitters- _I was originally going to post this as a one-shot...but it's far longer than I'm used to in terms of one-shots, and I really wanted to have this posted for Neji's birthday...and seeing as I'm typing this at 11 o'clock at night on July 3rd, I'm spliting this up into parts and posting as I get the other chapters done. I know I'd rather read a carefully checked fic then one that's been rushed to make a one hour deadline...

Oh, and for those of you who have the time, please go onto my profile and vote for your favourite pairing!

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way, own Naruto. If I, for some strange reason did, d'you honestly think that NejiTen wouldn't be canon yet?

* * *

**Bittersweet Tragedies**

_byakuxhisa4eva_

The sun shone brightly over the village of Konoha that day, the sky a cloudless blue and the people of Konoha, shinobi and civilian alike, took advantage of this strangely peaceful day to relax. Children chased each other in the dusty streets, playing tag and rolling around in the joyous way only children can, and small kids clung to their mothers' skirts as they stared in wonder that the bright and colorful things the marketplace had to offer.

Two green blurs could be seen dashing valiantly around the village walls, sprouting off sentences about Youth and Spring and oh-what-a-wonderfully-youthful-day-this-is as a masked jonin watched both of them from atop the Hokage monument, with an expression that clearly questioned their sanity and energy-source, before returning his attention to the little orange book in his hands.

Uchiha Sasuke and his pink-haired wife could be seen strolling down the park trail in Konoha's village park, pleased to have some time to themselves after leaving their young son with their old teammate over at the Hokage mansion.

The cheerful, relaxed atmosphere of the rest of Konoha didn't quite have seemed to extend over the secluded Hyuga compound where the young Hyuga heir was relentlessly dodging and returning his fathers' attacks in an intense exchange of chakra-filled punches and blows.

"Faster, faster, move your feet – _quickly –"_

Cold, white eyes, accentuated by bulging, chakra-filled veins, stared scrutinizing the heaving figure in front of him.

"Your footwork is too slow. It could be better."

Hizashi lifted his gaze from the dusty ground, his grip on his knees tightening every so slightly.

"Yes, Father,"

"Your strikes are not accurate enough. They need to be quicker, _harder_,"

The young Hyuga bit his lip, ducking his head at his father's steely glare.

"Of course, Father,"

"I am disappointed in you, Hizashi. It seems your blood does not run through your veins as strong as I expected,"

"I'm sorry, Father,"

"Stand up straighter, Hizashi,"

Despite his tiredness, he did as he was told, finally locking stares with the refined Hyuga head.

"You are dismissed,"

Hizashi bowed, deep, as was expected, to the greatest Head of Hyuga in centuries since it's founding, and turned, preparing to exit through the doorway, not wanting to be subject to further criticism.

"Hizashi,"

The cold voice cut through the humid afternoon air like a kunai in the heat of battle, and just as effectively stopping him in his tracks. He pivoted on his heel and turned to face what was inevitably another criticizing remark.

Battle-worn hands gripped the ancient walking stick tighter, and a mouth opened, and closed, as if rethinking a remark in one's mind. A hint of hesitation flashed through usually emotionless eyes, before a stern voice said,

"Dinner will be an hour late today. Don't be late,"

His eyes widening in shock for a brief second, Hizashi blinked, before, once again, bowing low, and replying in simple tones,

"Of course,"

"Then you are dismissed."

* * *

Hyuga Hizashi strolled mindlessly through the busy streets, his mind wandering just as aimlessly through the depths of his head. He waved a greeting to Iruka-sensei, who after all these years was still teaching at the Academy, and paused at the Yamanaka flower shop to admire the bright yellow daffodils Sakura-san was so fond of, and the blood-red roses that left a lingering sense of longing in the air.

Selecting a bunch of pale pink roses and baby's' breath he knew to be _her _favourite, his eyes widened for a fraction of a second at seeing a familiar mane of black-blue hair purchasing a very similar bunch of roses as the ones he held in his hand.

"Hinata-nee-san!"

"Hmmm? Oh, Hizashi-kun!"

Warm white eyes, so unlike those of his father, smiled comfortingly at him, as a delicate hand reached down to pat his dark locks of hair. Uzumaki Hinata smiled kindly down at her ten-year-old nephew, taking note his slightly tussled appearance, the dirt smeared on his face, and safely concluded that he had just finished whatever rigorous training session his father had planned for him that day.

Quickly handing over a couple notes to the cashier behind the counter, indicating she'd be paying for both bunches of flowers, her and her unexpected companion's, Hinata smiled and escorted both of them out the door, the shops' door chimes tinkling merrily behind them.

Hizashi silently gazed at the bundle of flowers he carefully cradled in his hands, eyes suddenly flooding full of images and visions he shouldn't be able to recall in the detail he did.

Hinata watched the young boys' expression change from a light, carefree one to one of a child that seemed to have experienced far more pain and suffering than one of his age should have. A thin string tugged at her heart as milky white gazes turned toward the now setting sun, and all they could both see were brilliant blends of rose, violet and the golden yellow that _she_ had loved so much, illuminating the emptying street in a golden glow.

The silence only seemed to grow louder, and their minds were slowly being pulled into a whirlpool of memories neither of them wanted to forget.

"You miss her, don't you, Hizashi-kun?"

Said boy was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of his aunt's soft voice, startled, before looking high up at the heaven that held so many of those the people of Konoha held dear. Sparing his aunt a brief glance, her eyes gazing wistfully at the sky, like he had been doing only moments ago, he tried to sharpen the edges of a photo that was slowly, in his mind's eye, fading into a blurred image that had yet to completely erased.

He'd have to look at the photo frame again, when he went home.

"Hizashi-kun?"

Reminded of presence beside him, Hizashi couldn't help but idly wonder, if she had been just as lost as he had.

"Yes. I suppose. I know I shouldn't have any memory of her, as I was barely alive in his world for a few moments before she had gone, but the photos in Father's room only serve to recreate memories I can never have."

Again, that fading memory, and Hizashi willed his head to try harder to sharpen those smudged edges.

"I've never really envied those children who have mothers to hold them at night, and to bring them to school in the morning, but at times...I can't help but wonder what my life would have been like if she had never died."

Hinata looked quietly over her young relation, blinking and shaking her head. For a moment, she had caught a glimpse of a cold, quiet child that had been bound at an early age of the cruel fate of those born into a life already decided.

"Do you resent her for not being here?"

The young Hyuga seemed to hesitate, a flicker of discomfort at answering a questions he had never really thought about.

"No," he answered slowly, stretching the silence that then came after, " But sometimes I wish more than anything that she were still here...and maybe then, I'd know what it'd feel like to have...a family,"

Hinata looked slightly amused at this, but answered accordingly, despite knowing the hidden meaning behind his words.

"You have the entire Hyuga clan, Hizashi-kun, and all your uncles and aunts, that would be more than proud to call you their _family_,"

"They're proud because I'm powerful, because I'm useful to them, and can bring their so-called honour to the clan. Once I'm of no use, they'll care no more for me than a rich man cares for a silken cloth that has already been used,"

Sad eyes closed at this vocalization of a thought that they both knew was true, despite changes that had slowly occurred over the years.

"...I want a family that _loves_ me_,_"

"Your father loves you very much, Hizashi-kun,"

Hizashi snorted, his upper lip curled into a sneer, one that shouldn't be seen on such a young child.

"No offence, Hinata-nee-san, but my father cares about me no more than I care about what others think about me. He acts as if I am nothing but a burden to him, a _disgrace_ to the family," he spat out bitterly, "In his eyes, I'll never be good enough to deserve even the slightest bit of respect or acknowledgement, never good enough to be what _he _was,"

Hinata paused in her walking, putting a gentle hand on the young boy's shoulder, efficiently stopping his bitter rant. In a voice that he had never heard his aunt use expect when she was being most serious, quiet, yet with the authority that commanded proper respect, she told him:

"You should never doubt that your father loves you, Hizashi. Very much, much more than anyone else in this world,"

"Don't be ridiculous," His tone was mocking and bitter, "I am of no worth to him. I do not believe he is even capable of love."

"And yet you are still here, you exist in this world, a child born of a union of two people who had every different status' in society's' view of the world," she told him, back to her quiet tone, "Your father loved your mother very much, and despite what the elders thought, married her because he loved her,"

Hizashi clenched his jaw tightly, not wanting to warp his head about a false hope that his father, his cold, calculating father, actually held the ability to care about someone as more than a tool to be used when necessary, not to be thrown away when dull, like a shinobi does to a kunai when it is blunt beyond resharpening.

"Your father wasn't always like this, you know," Hinata smiled at the look of disbelief in her nephews' eyes at the comment, "he has lived a life filled with bitterness and sorrow, of very little worth, even during most of this childhood, until..."

"Until...?" Hizashi questioned.

"He met _her. _He met your mother." Hinata giggled lightly at the thought. "Of course, he wasn't taken with her straight away, he's just not that kind of person. But over the course of many years, she slowly managed to 'melt the ice' around his heart. Of course, that eventually led to things your ears shouldn't hear about for several years to come,"

Hizashi blanched, knowing _exactly _what she was talking about. You just don't spend that much time around Uncle Naruto and _not _know what it meant.

Hinata's happy facade suddenly dropped, and Hizashi could tell that her current train of thought was a string of painful memories, ones that were better left to dwell at the back of the mind, to exist, but be forgotten.

"Then it happened." Hinata said abruptly, "The incident that changed his life, and made him the bitter person he is today,"

The knot twisting in his stomach only turned more tightly, and without knowing why, he felt the invisible hand he never noticed was there, clench the grip around his heart a little harder.

"Your mother was sacrificed for the good of the village."

* * *

_And so the wheels of fate begin to turn into the past, and history's carefully forgotten mistakes begin to repeat themselves._

* * *


	2. Negotiations

**A/N: **Ahhhh...Chapter two done. I was originally planning on this being a three-shot, but judging by the length of my planning, it'll probably be at least five chapters long, four if I start writing longer chapters. I've been spending the last few weeks reading NejiTen fan fiction over and over...So when my Internet crashed yesterday, and I reread the fics I had saved on my hard drive five times, I finally decided to start the next bit. :)

I've already reread this chapter three or four times to check for mistakes, and I've used my Word spellcheck and 's spell check, but there might still be a couple mistakes here and there.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Obviously. If I did, Neji and Tenten would have been canon the moment Shippuden came out. Or at least by their first appearance in Shippuden.

**Bittersweet Tragedies**

**Chapter II - Negotiations**

_byakuxhisa4eva_

"_We request the immediate release of all captured Rain nin, as well as the body of the current head of the Hyuga, which we were denied before."_

"_That's ridiculous!" The Rokudaime shouted, a fist slamming into the hard wood table, the force creating a slight dent in once smooth material. "You honestly can't expect Konoha to lose so much for the safe return of one woman, no matter how important!"_

_The head Rain ninja shifted back slightly in his chair, bring his arms up to his chest, a smug smirk plastered on his deeply scarred face. "Obviously we can, as your efforts to retrieve this one woman has called upon the attention of Konoha's high council, and the leaders of the Hyuga clan."_

_Those seated around the table exchanged worried glances, all thinking the same thought. _

"_And if we refuse?" _

_An odd dozen heads swivelled to look at the source that vocalized what they were all no doubt thinking. Naruto bit his lip, his hand clenching the edge of his desk tightly, and glared pointedly at usually silent man on his left side. _

"_Then the woman dies, and this war resumes without fail. Konoha's resources have greatly weakened from the previous war. Shinobi are being overworked to the __maximum__ extent. If this continues, both you and I know that the Village Hidden in the Leaves will meet its downfall."_

"_I do not believe the situation in Rain is much better," Naruto shot back, locking steely gazes with the man across from him. "You seem to be putting everything on this last trump card. You cannot possibly expect Konoha to return so much of the Rain's military power in exchange for one life."_

_Beside him, a fist clenched tightly in the sleeves of traditional white robes. The enemy ninja, despite the underlying threat in the Rokudaime's words, appeared to be amused. _

"_We are not fools, Hokage-sama, and this one woman can bring about the downfall of Konoha, given sufficient time, and expose one of the Hidden Leaf's most carefully protected secrets." The evident belief that he had this all but settled in their favour showed on the Rain nin's face. Apparently, the great Hokage had not been notified of the details of the current situation. "The secrecy of the Byakugan has always been associated strictly with Konoha, and in the centuries since it's founding, the Hyuga clan has always done it very best to lock these secrets within the clan," Deep blue eyes flickered over to the silent figure on the left. "As they did during the last war."_

_A brow creased, and cerulean blue eyes turned to glare at the head of afore mentioned clan beside him, eyes narrowing, before glaring harshly at the Rain nin._

"_You think that the capture of a woman, though bound to the Hyuga by marriage, will expose the secret of the Byakugan, when she herself does not possess this kekkei genkai?"_

_The wide smirk only widened further, as dark eyes seemed to glint in anticipation at this sudden discovery. _

"_You mean you do not yet know? It is not the woman herself who will give us this secret." His tone was superior and mocking, "It is what she carries within her."_

_Naruto growled, his irritation at lack of provided information evident. _

"_Dammit Neji," his chest rose and fell heavily with each breathe, words directed at his __long-time__ comrade, "What the hell is he talking about? You can't mean..."_

_Hyuga Neji did not meet his blank gaze with the fuming Hokage beside him, instead adverting his line of sight to the council of advisers seated around him – the Konoha twelve, all familiars faces he had grow up with – confirming their fears. _

"_She is with child."_

_And those of the Rain were all too pleased with the affirmation giving by the Hyuga. The mutual acknowledgement of dangerous liabilities served only to worsen states of the mind._

"_And we have the next heir to the Hyuga. With him the unsealed secrets of the Byakugan." _

* * *

Hinata paused in her storytelling, glancing over at her young charge, wondering if, perhaps, he was thinking the same thing she most likely would have thought, had she been told this story.

"I was this unborn child." It was not a question, Hinata noted, but a statement, one that did not take great thinking or rationality to conclude, given the situation.His tone was heavy, and though the young child did not voice it, the underlying guilt was evident. _I was the unborn child that threatened Konoha with my very existence. _

_The child that whose life was saved instead of his mother's. _

* * *

"_This is absurd! Ridiculous! We will not have centuries of secrecy exposed by a foolish clan leader who failed to alert his clan of his wife's condition!" An wrinkled fist, heavily marred by age was raised at said leader, and heavily breathing chest gasped for air._

"_Hitoshi! Sit down! This meeting will go nowhere if we do not act and think rationally!" Another elder barked, then __glancing__toward the center of the room. "Nonetheless, Neji-sama, he does bring to light a good point. Your wife failed to notify us of her condition, as did you. The birth of a Hyuga, the heir no __less, is a matter of utmost importance. She should not have gone on that mission."_

_The silent leader, like so many before him, did not immediately speak, instead opting to think over the correct way to address the current situation._

"_It is unlikely that she was aware of her condition herself, it is too early in the pregnancy. The subject of her mission does not require discussion – there is little point – as she has already been...captured." Neji felt his throat tighten, as if the vocalization of this fact only re-established the fact that she really was no longer with him. The very thought of _her_, of _Tenten_, Konoha's famed Weapons Mistress, in the hands of another, another prisoner among numbers possibly in the hundreds, did little to sooth his bitter anger against the Rain. _

_The hatred coursing through his veins pounded stronger with every heartbeat, and Neji couldn't quite help but remember the consequences of the actions taken last time. He had already lost his father, he couldn't afford to lose Tenten, not Tenten, and his child...his son...his heir..._

_The genius prodigy laboured over the situation in his mind. If they agreed to the demands, chances were Konoha would lose the war. Like the Rain had said, Konoha's already diminishing power, and the return of more than half of Rain's ninjas, was too much for Konoha to forfeit. Had they only asked for his corpse..._

_The irony of the situation frightened and worried him to no end. _

_The decades old scandal with Hiashi and Hizashi's death was fresh on his mind. But this time, a fake body could not be offered, as Neji was certain he had no physical double. _

_It was not the fear of death that made this decision so hard – for a ninja lived with the threat of death with every mission, everyday – and he, for the sake of his son, for Tenten, would willingly give up all claims on life, but he knew the Elders would never approve of that plan. Former branch member or not, he was still the Hyuga head, and therefore not expendable. _

_To add insult to injury, the thought of Tenten raising their son on her own, a single parent, worried him. Tenten was a capable kunoichi, and a more than capable woman and mother. But as mother to the heir to the Hyuga, and the entire Hyuga clan on her back, without Neji's protection, she would have a very hard time raising him normally. _

_But still, the secret of the Byakugan...the Hyuga clan's most carefully guarded secret, the kekkei genkai that set the Hyuga clan apart. If Rain did keep the child, his child, they could no doubt harness the powers for themselves, study and analyze its abilities, its weaknesses – _

"_Neji-sama! Are you listening?" _

_Snapping out of his reverie, he glanced around to see five sets of pearly white eyes staring questionably at him._

"_Yes, I'm listening," He motioned with his hand for them to continue, giving them no reason to doubt him._

_Assured the focus of the room was on him, the speaking elder ploughed on. "As I was saying, I think we should –"_

_All eyes turned to look at the shoji door, and the soft noise of someone rapping softly on the wooden door frame. _

"_What is it?" The elder barked, clearly annoying at being interrupted once again._

_A middle-aged woman, one of the more senior Hyuga maids, slid open the screen and bowed courteously, speaking in a firm, clear voice. "You have a visitor. Hokage-sama is here to see you, Hyuga-sama."_

"_Thank-you, Sachiko-san, I'll take it from here." A new voice sounded out behind her, and Sachiko shuffled backwards, bowing, revealing a new face. _

_Neji's face didn't betray his surprise at this unexpected visit, as did the rest of the elders. He inclined his head slightly at Naruto, and raised a dark eyebrow; inquiring in his own way his curiosity at his arrival. _

_Naruto nodded firmly, not before turning around and shutting the door firmly behind him, nodding at the maid still behind it. At Neji's questioning glance, he simply took a seat in a vacant chair at the opposite end of the table they were seated at. "It's best that we're not heard. I've posted several ANBU squads around the compound. No one but us and the Anbu know I'm here."_

_The elder who had been interrupted by the sudden visitor spoke up. "Hokage-sama, I do not mean any disrespect, but we are in the middle of a very important meeting. Perhaps you could...?"_

_Naruto held up a hand, pausing him in his speech, his bright blue eyes burning fiercely, his mouth set in a firm line. "The secret of the Byakugan is not something that Konoha can afford to lose. Returning a further forty percent of Rain's captured nin – a good portion of them high-ranking jounin – is also not an option. Even so, I will not have Neji killed, even if for the sake of Tenten and their son." _

_Neji narrowed his eyes, locking pearl and sapphire gazes, much like their first battle during the Chunin exams years ago. "Where are you going with this Naruto...?"_

_Naruto leaned forward, resting his chin on the linked backs of his hands, eyes glinting brightly in the dim light. _

"_I have a suggestion."_


	3. Mission Impossible

**Author's Note: **Late update...I know. I've had this chapter done for a week or so...but when I got home I kept forgetting to post it...Well, enjoy! Please review!

Oh yes, and please vote for your favourite pairing on my profile if you haven't already! NejiTen is in the lead (probably since I've mostly been concentrated in the NejiTen fandom recently...)!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto... _-sighs- _I wish.

**Bittersweet Tragedies**

**Chapter III – Mission Impossible**

_byakuxhisa4eva_

_Naruto leaned forward, resting his chin on the linked backs of his hands, eyes glinting brightly in the dim light. _

"_I have a suggestion."_

* * *

"What happened?"

"Shhh...listen carefully. This is a story that should not be told anymore than it has to."

* * *

_Neji narrowed his eyes dangerously, almost with a hint of threat, at the orange-clad shinobi, his heart pulsing to a slightly more erratic beat. "What are you proposing?"_

_Naruto's tired face hardened, as if he'd rather not it come to this. "I'm going to send an ANBU squad after her."_

_"But that will breach the conditions of the treaty."_

_"There will be no agreement." Naruto clenched his hand together tightly, eyes locking with Neji's. "I'm not going to hand you, or anyone else over to them." _

_"And if Rain finds out?" Neji's stomach churned at the thought of what might happen to Tenten...to their child._

_"They won't kill her." Naruto immediately said, reading Neji's slightly stricken expression. "She's far too valuable. They think that if they can keep the child, they'll have the secrets of the Byakugan. Even if the ANBU are discovered, they will try to keep Tenten alive until the child is born."_

_Neji could see many holes in this plan, many twists, many ifs and buts; if they didn't act fast however, those gaps would only widen. "And...if they are unable to retrieve her?" _

_"I am sending out our best ANBU squad. Rain's forces are weakening. The remaining Konoha nin can handle this village's defence. This child is the biggest chance they have, and I'll be damned if we lose this war."_

_Neji noticed that Naruto had purposely evaded answering his question, and he wasn't quite sure he wanted to hear the consequences of failure himself. He needed Tenten, he needed his heir, needed - _

_"To go on this mission." _

_"Eh?" Naruto blinked, straining his ears, not quite catching the sentence. "What was that?"_

_"I request permission to accompany the squad." Neji repeated firmly, his voice set in stone. _

_They traded level gazes, unblinking, a myriad of emotions flashing through blue and white eyes; a silent conversation in a tension-wrought room. The moment passed in pressured muteness; not a word was spoken. _

_"No."_

_Hyuga's did not argue. They did not protest. They did not go against the law. And the Hokage's word was the law. Neji did not respond the to refusal the way most would have; he only spoke this thoughts._

_"Is there a reason?" A pointless question._

_"You know the reason as well as I do Neji. There is nothing we can do."_

_Inwardly, Neji resisted the urge to yell. To scream, to shout – to defy all he believed in and think nothing but of himself. He knew the reason why he couldn't go, he knew his request would be denied – it was only reasonable, he would have done the same thing. _

_If Neji was sent, on the odd chance he was captured, they'd be walking right into Rain's clutches. Now that the seal on his forehead was no longer operational, Rain could uncover the secrets of the most formidable Byakugan to grace the Hyuga clan with enough study and testing, as well as remove one of Konoha's strongest forces to boot. _

_The Hyuga clan would fall into chaos. No leader and no heir, the Hyuga's carefully followed traditional system would crumble, unaccustomed to the change that it would invoke. _

_"We will save the child Neji. The child and Tenten. This squad has never failed a mission. They'd give everything for Konoha." _

_"Yes," Neji said, very softly, "Everything for Konoha."_

* * *

_"You know what you are to do."_

_Four masked faces nodded. "Yes."_

_"I believe I have stressed the utmost importance of the success of this mission." Naruto paused his gaze on each of the four cloaked figures, a knowing gaze in his eyes. "This is perhaps the most crucial piece to ending this war. You. Cannot. Fail."_

_No reply. Sentiments were unspoken, unneeded. Without a second glance, the quartet vanished instantly, leaving nothing behind but a whirlwind of dust and a strange sense of uneasiness. _

_The future was in their hands now. _

_"Come home safely, Tenten."_

_The wind shook the air violently, but there was no reply. _

* * *

_"Three guards at the front entrance, three at the back, a dozen or so securing the perimeter. It's a tightly guarded spot. She has to be there." _

_The strategist looked up at his squad, before directing attention back towards the blueprints spread out on the forest floor. "I will keep watch out here, and alert you toward incoming enemy nin. Uchiha and Haruno will force their way through the front entrance, as discussed earlier. Hatake will stay close, as back up."_

_"Her exact whereabouts?" Green eyes flickered across the many rooms etched on the blue sheets. _

_The usually lazy nin sighed. "Unconfirmed. But the building is not large, and few rooms are suited for keeping prisoners. She will most likely be near one of the large rooms at the centre, one of the more heavily guarded."_

_"Process of elimination," Onyx eyes flickered knowingly._

_"That's right." _

_Hidden deep within forest confines in the Land of Stone, stood a medium-sized base. Simple, plain, built of stone and simple structures, but strong enough to hold up a second story, and secure enough to hide away several prisoners. _

_And surrounded by guards and sentries on all sides; a heavily guarded structure. Far too secure for a simple prison. _

_Without the advantage of the Byakugan on this mission – for not a Hyuga could be risked on this retrieval, for the same reasons Neji couldn't come – days of observation and scrutiny were needed instead of the usual mere moments. _

_The team of the top-rated ANBU quartet had planned days for this retrieval, thought out and analyzed every possible outcome, every percentage of chance, pulled apart and rearranged the plan from all possible angles, leaving nothing untouched. _

_They could not – could not fail this mission. If not for their duty to their village's victory in this war – and the fate of the Hyuga – for their friendship with the person who loved her so much..._

_"Alright. Move out. Uchiha, Haruno, go."_

_"Hai!" _

_For the sake of Neji and Tenten. _

* * *

"The mission failed."

"No, it didn't."

"But she never returned."

"...alive."

* * *

_"Left!"_

_"Right!"_

_Two cloaked figures, one noticeably shorter than the other, paused in their sprint at the end of the corridor – already covered in blood – where paths split. _

_"Two hallways. Split up. Keep in contact via radio."_

_"I'll take right, then."_

_Darting in opposite directions with unfathomable speed, they scanned all rooms down the winding hallways, looking for a familiar chakra presence. _

_"What I wouldn't give for Byakugan right now..." The shorter of the ANBU muttered under her breath, still madly flitting through the hallways at top speed. _

_If they had the desired kekkei genkai with them, it would have made things a thousand times easier..._

_Shaking her head, she flung away all idle thoughts, clearing her head, as she spotted a doorway flanked by two large, burly guards. _

_She smirked. "Way too obvious."_

_Flitting before them, cloak discarded in her run for ease of movement, she harshly shot forward, both hands outstretched, palms glowing. Smirking with a satisfied aura and they both groaned and slumped forward, unbreathing, she rammed into the door with significant force, yanking it right off the hinges. _

_It was a sparsely furnished space, only a bed and small table beside it, a door leading to a bathroom on the right, only one window. Seated on the bed, was a woman, petite in figure, slender, her stomach bulging with signs of pregnancy, supposedly sleeping – racked with heavy breaths._

_Before the intruder could dart forward and sweep the woman into her arms, brown eyes shot open, and she screamed. She ran forward immediately, tearing off her mask along the way. _

_"Aha-" the woman on the bed gasped, shock now tinting her pain-filled eyes. "S-Sakura?!"_

_"Tenten." Said woman stared, voice barely above a whisper, as screams filled the room again, hand resting on the woman's large stomach. "You're going into labour!" _

_Her only reply was a strained scream, and the feeling of her hand being clenched with tremendous force. _

_"Sasuke!" Sakura spoke frantically into her transmitter, urgency detected in every syllable. "I got Tenten! Room 223. Hurry!" _

_The small speaker buzzed, and a lower, masculine voice was emitted from the tiny piece of machinery. "What's wrong?"_

_"She's going into labour!" _

_Silence. "Dammit. Give me a second." Faint thumping sounds were heard, the sound of bodies hitting the ground, Sakura supposed. Less than a second later, another cloaked figure rushed into the room, masked still concealing his face. _

_"Dammit," he repeated, "She's not supposed to be due yet for another month!"_

_Sakura ran her hands over the bulging stomach, gently feeling around, her palms glowing slightly. "They've given her some sort of medicine. To speed up the process, most likely."_

_Another buzz was heard, and an urgent voice filled the room. "Uchiha, Haruno! What is it? Get out of there!" _

_"Shikamaru," Sakura's chest heaved up and down, eyes focused on Tenten as the woman's body shook with contractions. "We can't. It's Tenten. She's going into labour."_

_A long string of curses was heard through the line. "Dammit. How long will the birth take?"_

_"Forty minutes to an hour, at least. Half an hour if I chakra enhance the muscles."_

_There was no hesitation in the strategist's voice. "Deliver the child. Hatake and I will hold off the rest of the nin. There can't be more than a dozen left. Uchiha, you too." _

_"Right."_

_Sasuke disappeared into the air, immediately being met with a horde of guards, which he took out in less than a minute. "Hurry, Sakura!"_

_The pink-haired medic-nin immediately positioned herself, creating a doppelganger to aide in the procedure. _

_Tenten gave another scream, gripping the sheets with enough force for her fingernails to pierce the skin of her palm even through the fabric. _

_She nodded at her clone, signalling for her to start pushing chakra into Tenten's body. _

_"Alright, Tenten. Push!"_

* * *

_To be continued..._

* * *


End file.
